Queen Elizabeth, Charles to Pay Taxes at Top Rate : Britain: The monarch will not be subject to ordinary inheritance taxes on assets owned as sovereign, such as castles, art and crown jewels. - latimes Queen Elizabeth, Charles to Pay Taxes at Top Rate : Britain: The monarch will not be subject to ordinary inheritance taxes on assets owned as sovereign, such as castles, art and crown jewels. February 12, 1993 |WILLIAM TUOHY | TIMES STAFF WRITER LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II and her son and heir, the Prince of Wales, will begin paying the top tax rate on their personal income in April, Prime Minister John Major announced in Parliament on Thursday. The agreement was revealed after almost a year of negotiations among the Inland Revenue Department, the British Treasury and the royal household--in the face of popular pressure that the queen should pay taxes. However, her fortune will not be subject to ordinary inheritance taxes on assets owned as the sovereign--such as her castles, palaces, art collection and crown jewels. "I believe that is necessary to protect the independence of the monarchy," said Major, who noted that, otherwise, the kingdom could be "salami sliced," reducing the royal assets over the generations.

But he said the inheritance tax "should apply to all bequests or gifts by the sovereign, other than to transfers of assets from one sovereign to his or her successor." Major also told members of Parliament that the queen had agreed to cut the number of members of the Royal Family funded by the taxpayers, leaving on the Civil List, the government-supplied allowance, only herself, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother. Further, Prince Charles will pay taxes at the ordinary income rate from his Duchy of Cornwall, which has massive real estate holdings, replacing the voluntary 25% he now pays. A charitable trust will be set up to administer the queen's large art collection, Major said, funded in part by public admission charges. After the prime minister's announcement, members of the royal household headed by the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Airlie, held a rare media briefing. Airlie said the new taxes would place a "considerable additional burden" on the queen's finances.

In explaining the queen's decision to subject her income to taxation, Airlie said, "It is only by moving with the times, not too fast and not too slow, that the institution itself can continue to make its essential contribution to national life." Airlie said the size of the queen's personal fortune--variously estimated from $135 million to more than $9 billion--was "grossly exaggerated." But he did not give any estimate of her assets, either public holdings or private investment portfolio, so even with her taxes at the highest 40% rate, it will still not be known how much she will pay. In his statement to the House of Commons, Major said the Royal Family's tax figures would remain confidential--as is the case with every other taxpayer. But Phillip Hall, author of a book on royal finances, estimated that the queen had personal tax liabilities that could produce a $20-million annual payment. Queen Victoria paid income tax when it was first introduced in the last century. But King George V negotiated various exemptions in 1910, while his son, George VI, Elizabeth's father, stopped paying any income tax in the 1930s.

The queen's decision to pay taxes was generally greeted favorably. Lord St. John of Fawsley, former Conservative Cabinet minister and constitutional expert, said it was "one of the great acts of statesmanship of her reign. Only the most curmudgeonly will raise objections to a settlement as comprehensive as it is magnanimous." A Guide to the Royal Riches The secrecy and confusion surrounding the queen's fortune is partly due to the problem of working out which palaces, jewels and pictures belong to her and which she holds in safekeeping for the nation. Some facts about the fortune: Estimates of her wealth: $135 million to $9 billion. When she'll begin paying taxes: April 6 Tax obligation: Owed on income and capital gains Tax bracket: The top rate of 40% Tax break: Not required to pay inheritance tax QUEEN'S PRIVATE FINANCES The queen's private wealth is defined as personal assets such as shares and treasures that she could sell if she wished. They include: 1. The royal palaces of Balmoral and Sandringham, plus the Duchy of Lancaster estate and the Duchy of Cornwall. 2.

A large share portfolio and some stud farms that provide homebred stock for her stable of racehorses. 3. The royal art collection, including more than 5,000 paintings, is the queen's private property, but it is technically held in trust by her for the nation. Its maintenance will now pass to a new charitable trust, funded from income generated by admissions charges. Source: Times wire reports BBC ON THIS DAY | 26 | 1992: Queen to be taxed from next year 1992: Queen to be taxed from next year A British monarch is to pay income tax for the first time since the 1930s. The Prime Minister, John Major, told the House of Commons the Queen had informed him earlier this year that she wished to make changes to her tax arrangements. She will also take responsibility for the working expenses of most of her family under changes Mr Major said should be implemented in April 1993. The decision has been broadly welcomed by Westminster and is fully supported by the Prince of Wales, who already pays some tax on his income. Buckingham Palace has denied the announcement is related to growing public concern about the rising cost of the monarchy.

Questions have been raised about who will foot the bill for repairing Windsor Castle, which was severely damaged in a fire last week. The solution is to find something positive for the monarchy to do Historian David Starkey But a palace spokesman said the Queen and Prince Charles had made their decision before the July summer recess of Parliament. Under the new arrangement the only royals who will be paid for by the public will be the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother. Chairman of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee Sir Marcus Fox said public pressure should now come off the monarchy. And constitutional expert Lord St John of Fawsley said the decision proved the Queen was in tune with public opinion. "She's a wise woman - she's known nine prime ministers and she's been on the throne for 40 years," he said. But historian David Starkey told the BBC even bigger changes were needed. "This is not the solution, this is simply addressing the symptom - the solution is to find something positive for the monarchy to do," he said. In Context Since 2001 the monarchy have published their annual accounts in an attempt to make royal finances more transparent. The Queen's duties as head of state continue to be funded with public money.

In the financial year 2003-2004 this amounted to �36.8m. Her personal fortune is estimated to be about �275m. Queen Elizabeth II: The platinum monarch? - CNN.com Queen Elizabeth II: The platinum monarch? By Victoria Arbiter Updated 3:54 PM ET, Wed September 9, 2015 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Look back at moments from her life so far. Hide Caption 1 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, in London. She is held here by her mother, Elizabeth. Her father would later become King George VI. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth in 1928. 3 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth is seen with her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, during a visit to Balmoral, Scotland, in September 1933.

He would go on to become King Edward VIII in 1936. But when he abdicated later that year, Elizabeth's father became King and she became heir presumptive. Hide Caption 4 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth is seen in the Duchess' box during a pantomime act at London's Lyceum Theater in February 1935. Hide Caption 5 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II From left, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wave to the crowd from the Royal Balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 22, 1939. Hide Caption 6 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II A 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth, right, sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast on October 13, 1940. On the broadcast, her first, she said that England's children were full of cheerfulness and courage. Hide Caption 7 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth shakes hands with an officer of the Grenadier Guards on May 29, 1942.

King George VI made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth, right, and Princess Margaret wear summer dresses circa 1942. Hide Caption 9 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II With the Drakensberg Mountains behind her, Princess Elizabeth sits in South Africa's Natal National Park on April 21, 1947, her 21st birthday. Hide Caption 10 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II This portrait of the British royal family was taken in July 1947, after Princess Elizabeth, far left, got engaged to Prince Philip of Greece, a lieutenant in the British Navy. He is second from left. To his left are Queen Elizabeth, King George VI and Princess Margaret. Hide Caption 11 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Royal Wedding Party waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on November 20, 1947. After becoming a British citizen and renouncing his Greek title, Philip became His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His wife became the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Hide Caption 12 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth smiles in March 1950 as she arrives to a state banquet at the French Embassy in London's Kensington Palace Gardens. Hide Caption 13 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth ascended to the throne in February 1952, when her father died of lung cancer. Here, the new Queen leaves the Royal Archers Hall in Edinburgh after a ball in June 1952. It was the first function she attended as Queen following her father's death. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II walks to the altar during her coronation ceremony on June 2, 1953. Hide Caption 15 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Melbourne's Government House, during her tour of Australia in March 1954. Hide Caption 16 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II From left, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother visit Epsom Downs Racecourse in June 1958.

Hide Caption 17 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen holds her son Prince Andrew while his sister, Princess Anne, watches during a family holiday at Scotland's Balmoral Castle in September 1960. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II is seen during the State Opening of Parliament in April 1966. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II with her oldest son, Prince Charles, in 1969. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles adjusts his coronet during his investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales in 1969. Hide Caption 21 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave from a plane ramp shortly before taking off from Tokyo in May 1975. Hide Caption 22 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II takes a portrait at Windsor Castle for her 50th birthday on April 21, 1976. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen meets the crowds during her royal tour of New Zealand in 1977.

Hide Caption 24 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen stands next to Prince Charles as he kisses his new bride, Princess Diana, on their wedding day July 29, 1981. Hide Caption 25 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II takes pictures of her husband during a horse show in Windsor, England, on May 16, 1982. Hide Caption 26 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen reacts to an elephant as she tours a charity event in London's Hyde Park in June 1987. Hide Caption 27 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II fires a rifle during a visit to the Army Rifle Association at Bisley, England, in July 1993. Hide Caption 28 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II While at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip view the floral tributes to Princess Diana after her tragic death in 1997.

Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen addresses the nation on the night before Princess Diana's funeral in 1997. Hide Caption 30 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles looks back at his mother after wedding Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in April 2005. Hide Caption 31 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leave London's St. Paul's Cathedral on October 9, 2009, following a commemoration service to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq. Hide Caption 32 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen, second from right, greets a crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011. Her grandson Prince William, third from left, had just married Catherine Middleton. Hide Caption 33 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II drives her Range Rover as she attends the Windsor Horse Show in May 2011.

Hide Caption 34 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen's signature is seen in the visitors book at Aras An Uachtarain, the Irish President's official residence in Dublin, Ireland, in May 2011. Hide Caption 35 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Flags are waved as Queen Elizabeth II leaves St. Paul's Cathedral following its 300th anniversary service in June 2011. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Madame Tussauds London reveals a wax figure of the Queen in May 2012. Hide Caption 37 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles kisses his mother's hand on stage as singer Paul McCartney, far right, looks on at the Diamond Jubilee concert held June 4, 2012, at Buckingham Palace. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations marked Elizabeth's 60th anniversary as Queen. Hide Caption 38 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen speaks at a reception for members of the International Olympic Committee on July 23, 2012.

Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen tours the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London in December 2012. Hide Caption 40 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II A boy in Belfast, Northern Ireland, takes a selfie in front of the Queen in June 2014. Hide Caption 41 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen enters the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle after attending a commemorative service for the Scottish National War Memorial in July 2014. Hide Caption 42 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen waits to give her speech during the State Opening of Parliament on May 27, 2015. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen sits at a desk in Buckingham Palace in July 2015. Hide Caption Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The British monarch greets the public after attending church services in February. Hide Caption 45 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince George gets a boost from some foam blocks for a special family photo.

The portrait, featuring the four generations of the House of Windsor, was commissioned by the Royal Mail and will be featured on a series of stamps to commemorate the Queen's 90th birthday. Hide Caption 46 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II acknowledges the crowd as she celebrates her 90th birthday in Windsor, England, on April 21. Hide Caption 47 of 48 Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II On June 10, Buckingham Palace released a new official photograph to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. It shows her with Prince Philip and was taken at Windsor Castle just after Easter. Hide Caption Queen Elizabeth II: Royal Witness to History Queen Elizabeth II: Royal Witness to History By Newsweek Special Edition On 8/16/15 at 3:10 PM Queen Elizabeth II sits at a microphone at Sandringham House as she prepares to deliver her first Christmas message to subjects across the globe on Boxing Day in 1952. AP IMAGES World Queen Elizabeth II History England The Queen By Editorial Assistant Haley Spielberg With 63 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign has seen its share of defining moments.

To commemorate the life and legacy of Britain's longest-serving monarch, Newsweek 's latest special edition looks at some of the seminal moments in the Queen's life. 1952: The Queen makes her first Christmas Broadcast. Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week The annual Christmas Broadcast has been a tradition among the Royal Family since 1932, when Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V delivered the first Royal message over the radio. That Christmas day, he spoke from a small office in Sandringham to an audience of 20 million. The broadcast was so successful that he continued to deliver the message every subsequent Christmas until he died in 1936. The Royal Christmas Broadcast took on a new layer of meaning in 1939 when war broke out; that year, King George VI spoke live to boost morale and offer reassurance to his people. After her father died in 1952, Elizabeth took over, viewing the broadcast as an opportunity to speak openly and directly to the public.

Fittingly filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk, on the 20th anniversary of her grandfather’s first speech, Elizabeth’s first message incorporated current issues and concerns, as well as the Queen’s reflections on the Christmas spirit. 1965: The Queen visits West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. In May 1965, Germany was still divided into two regions: The Eastern part of the country was associated with the Soviet Union, while the Western part was a member of NATO. The city of Berlin, situated in the Soviet-controlled East Germany, was also divided into East and West. During her visit, the Queen pledged her support to the people of West Berlin and received an enthusiastic response. In later years, the British Monarch would continue to display global diplomacy toward cold warriors and former adversaries alike, welcoming Emperor Hirohito of Japan on his first state visit to Britain in October of 1971, where he moved among silent crowds. 1969: Death penalty for murder abolished in Britain. The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act of 1965 first introduced the proposal to abolish capital punishment for murder in Britain.

Under its terms, hanging was suspended for an experimental period of five years. In 1969, the Members of Parliament voted for its permanent abolition, winning by a majority of 343 to 185. However, until 1998, capital punishment was still able to be administered for offenses such as treason, piracy with violence and arson in Royal Dockyards. It was not until 1999 that the death penalty was abolished in the U.K. for any reason. 1973: Britain joins the European Economic Community. In 1973, facing growing economic decline, Great Britain sought entry into the European Economic Community (EEC), predecessor to today’s European Union (EU). Before Britain’s entry, the six member states were Belgium, France, Luxembourg, West Germany and the Netherlands. Up until 1973, France’s President Charles de Gaulle had repeatedly blocked U.K. membership to the EEC, fearing British membership would weaken the French voice in Europe and increase America’s influence. Following de Gaulle’s 1969 resignation, British Prime Minister Edward Heath took the U.K.

into the EEC in 1973 with the Queen’s blessing, joining with Denmark and Ireland to bring the total number of member states up to nine. In 1975, newly elected Prime Minister Harold Wilson held a referendum on Britain’s continued membership; 66 percent voted to stay in the European Community. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, drive through West Berlin on their 1965 visit to Germany. In the background is the infamous Berlin Wall, which separated the Soviet Sector from the Allied Sectors. AP IMAGES 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister. As conservative stances took hold of politics on both sides of the Atlantic, Ronald Reagan became its champion in the U.S., and Margaret Thatcher became his match in the U.K. When Thatcher won the position of Prime Minister—the first woman ever to do so—the U.K. became a country with women in its two highest positions. That too was a first. Thatcherism would go on to impact the British political landscape more than any other Prime Minister’s philosophy since Winston Churchill. 1981: Belize and Antigua and Barbuda gain their independence from Britain.

The British Empire once ruled over 60 countries; today, there remain just 14 territories under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Two of the countries to achieve independence under Queen Elizabeth, Belize and the twin-island country Antigua and Barbuda, broke from Britain in 1981—though both countries remained part of the Commonwealth as independent nation- states. Whereas Antigua and Barbuda partitioned off without difficulty, Belize saw a more tortuous journey to independence. The last British colony in the Americas had long wanted independence, but was too weak to stand alone against territorial incursions by neighboring Guatemala. Its petition for independence eventually garnered international support, and on September 21, 1981, Belize finally gained independence. The empire suffered another loss 16 years later when China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong, which had been under British rule for 156 years. 1982: England goes to war in the Falklands. On April 2, 1982, Argentine junta leader General Leopoldo Galtieri invaded the Falkland Islands, an Atlantic archipelago just east of Argentina.

Galtieri sent his troops to the Falklands in an attempt to seize the territory from Great Britain. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher responded by sending a heavy task force overseas to reclaim the islands. The ensuing battle was brief but brutal—with the death toll reaching 900 by the end of the war and Great Britain coming out with a firm victory. In 2013, a referendum was held in which 99.8 percent of Falkland islanders voted to remain part of the U.K. Still, the islands continue to be the subject of dispute. Queen Elizabeth is accompanied by a fireman as she tours the scene of a major fire at Windsor Castle on November 21, 1992. GILLIAN ALLEN/AP IMAGES 1992: The Queen’s “annus horribilis” (horrible year). On November 24, 1992, Queen Elizabeth spoke at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in recognition of the 40th anniversary of her coronation. In her speech, she reflected on what she referred to as an “annus horribilis”—a horrible year.

Indeed, 1992 saw a range of tragedies for the British Royal Family. Just two days before her speech, a large fire had broken out in the Windsor castle, engulfing the 850-year-old structure and its vast collection of valuables in flames. The fire lasted 15 hours, taking 250 firefighters and 1.5 million gallons of water to extinguish. Repairs would last five years, cost £37 million and spark intense public debate about whether taxpayer money should fund the bill. That same year, the respective marriages of three of her children, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne, disintegrated. As heir to the throne, Prince Charles’s separation from first wife Princess Diana not only threatened the future of the Monarchy but also led to the publication of Diana, Her True Story. The tell-all book revealed details of the couple’s marriage, including Charles’s affair with his previous girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles. The Queen’s second child and only daughter, Anne, split from her husband, Mark Phillips, in April of that year, and Prince Andrew, her youngest child, separated from his wife, Sarah Ferguson, one month later, after several scandals surfaced.

1993: The Queen starts paying taxes. In 1992, the Queen introduced a huge reform, volunteering for the Monarchy to pay income tax and capital gains tax for the first time in more than a century. On April 6, 1993, the Queen and her family began paying taxes like everyone else, albeit with a sizeable break on the inheritance tax. Historically, very few monarchs have paid taxes. Queen Victoria paid income tax when it had been first introduced in the 19th century, but King George V arranged several exemptions, while his son, George VI, stopped paying taxes altogether. The year the Queen volunteered her tax contributions, she also opened her official residences to the public to finance their maintenance. ￼As a nation mourned the loss of Princess Diana in 1997, the Monarchy had to cope with the mother of its heirs being killed before her time. Her brother, Earl Spencer, delivered a eulogy still remembered by Britons and foreigners alike. REX/NEWSCOM 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a Paris car crash.

Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, a car accident would rattle the world. That night, Princess Diana, 36, was in the back seat of a car driving away from Paris’s Ritz Hotel when chauffeur Henri Paul lost control of the vehicle. Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, son of billionaire Mohammed Al Fayed, was also in the car. Fayed and Paul died on impact; Diana and her bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones were rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Her bodyguard survived. Diana did not. Thousands attended her funeral, and almost 2.5 billion around the world watched the televised broadcast. The Queen remained quiet after the incident, preferring to deal with the tragedy in private. 2003: The U.K. leads a “Coalition of the Willing.” As the United States prepared to take action against Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, allies were hard to come by. Many questioned going after the Iraqi dictator at this particular time. Led by Prime Minister Tony Blair, the U.K.

became the first and largest member of what would later become known as a “Coalition of the Willing.” More than 600 British military personnel would lose their lives in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though it was deemed too dangerous for Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry to serve in Iraq in 2008, he was stationed in Afghanistan for two months, until his high visibility became a security concern for his fellow soldiers. He would return as an Apache pilot from 2012 to 2013. ￼Proud parents, Prince William and Princess Catherine, and big brother, Prince George, accompany Princess Charlotte (in carriage) to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene for her Christening on July 5, 2015. MICHAEL DUNLEA/N&S SYNDICATION/EXPRESS NEWSPAPER/AP IMAGES 2011: The Queen supports female heirs to inherit the throne. Throughout her reign, the Queen has shown support for a number of progressive legislative amendments—one of which was the Perth Agreement of October 2011.

That year, the biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting took place in Perth, Australia; there, British Prime Minister David Cameron described certain rules as “outdated”—namely, those of Royal succession. By the end of the meeting, the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth (16 in total) had voted to replace male primogeniture with absolute primogeniture, effectively allowing daughters of the Monarch to take their place in the line of succession. The Perth Agreement also dissolved legislation that prevented potential Monarchs from marrying Catholics. Interestingly, had these amendments been made earlier in history, Margaret Tudor would have succeeded Henry VII; instead, her younger brother, Henry VIII, took the throne. In 2013, as the Queen’s grandson William awaited the birth of his firstborn, the act gained urgency in Britain. It was finally passed in 2015, allowing Elizabeth’s great-granddaughter Charlotte to be a candidate for the throne. This article appears in Newsweek's Special Commemorative Edition, The Queen . Frequently Asked Questions | Britroyals Frequently Asked Questions When did the last British King fight in a battle?

George II was the last British King to lead his army in person, during the War of the Austrian Succession, at the Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria, 27th June, 1743. The last English King to die in battle was Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire on 22 August 1485 defeated by Henry Tudor who became Henry VII ending the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster and starting the Tudor dynasty. The last British King to die in battle was James IV of Scotland killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in Northumberland on 9 September 1513 when the Scots invaded England hoping to take advantage of Henry VIII's absence in France, but were defeated by English forces under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. How far back can the British Royal Family trace their roots? Is Queen Elizabeth II really directly descended from Alfred the Great? She is the 32nd great granddaughter of King Alfred who 1,140 years ago was the first effective King of England. He ruled from 871 to 899. I thought that American Independence was in 1776.

Why is it quoted as 1783? The Continental Congress of the 13 American colonies declared independence in 1776. However, the war continued and independence from Britain was not achieved until the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Was George III really mad? For most of his reign King George III was an astute king and politician with a strong sense of duty. Later in his reign he suffered from recurrent and eventually permanent mental illness. This baffled medical science at the time, although it is now generally thought that he suffered from the inherited blood disease porphyria. He suffered his first attack in 1788 and by 1810 was unfit to rule. In 1811 his son George, Prince of Wales, became Regent for 9 years until his father died in 1820. Who would now be King or Queen if Edward VIII had not abdicated? Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 less than a year after becoming King to marry Wallis Simpson. His younger brother Bertie became King George VI and was the father of the present Queen Elizabeth II .

He died in 1952, and Edward who had no children died in 1972. So even if Edward had not abdicated Elizabeth would now be Queen. She would have come to the throne in 1972 instead of 1952. Why did Edward VIII have to give up the throne to marry a divorcee but Prince Charles is still in line to the throne? Royals who are divorced or marry divorcees do not lose their position in the line of succession. Edward VIII had a number of affairs with married women including Wallis Simpson who was already divorced and still married to her second husband. His parents King George V and Queen Mary did not approve and refused to meet her. When George V died Prime Minister Baldwin made it clear that the Government, popular opinion in the country and the oversees Dominions (now the Commonwealth nations) did not approve of his plans to marry Wallis. Social attitudes towards divorce and a women looking for a third marriage were considered scandalous at the time, and if Edward married against the advice of his Ministers it would have caused the Government to resign and a constitutional crisis. Edward chose to abdicate.

The 1772 Royal Marriages Act requires members of the Royal Family to obtain permission from the Sovereign to marry. Queen Elizabeth II gave her permission for Prince Charles to marry Camilla, and more recently for Prince William to marry Catherine Middleton. Would Princess Diana have become Queen? If Prince Charles had become King during their marriage then she would have been his consort with the title Queen Diana. They divorced in 1996 and she died in a car crash in Paris on 31st August 1997. Although popularly known as 'Princess Diana' this was not her title - because she became a princess by marrying Prince Charles her title was Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales, or more simply Diana, Princess of Wales. Who is Prince Henry shown as fourth in line to the Throne? What about Prince Harry? Prince Harry's name is Henry Charles Albert David . Harry is his nickname Is Kate Middleton the first commoner to marry an heir to the throne? The Queen's husband Prince Philip is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, Diana's family had titled ancestry and Camilla is the granddaughter of a baron.

Prince William's wife Catherine (Kate) nee Middleton comes from a middle class background with no aristocratic or titled connections. She is not however the first commoner to marry a future king. Notably Anne Hyde first wife of King James II, and Elizabeth Woodville, who married King Edward IV in 1464 and became a key figure in the Wars of the Roses were commoners with no direct connections to nobility. Edward VIII married Wallis Simpson but had already abdicated as King. Why are William and Harry referred to as Wales when their name is Windsor? Members of the Royal Family who are titled His (or Her) Royal Highness do not traditionally need or use a surname. Windsor is the name of the Royal House to which they belong. Their titles are HRH Prince William of Wales and HRH Prince Henry of Wales . During their tours of duty with the Armed Forces, the Princes chose to show their surname as Wales. Members of the royal family who are not HRH (for example Prince Edward's children Louise and James) use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Why are Prince Andrew's daughters princesses when Prince Edward's daughter is not?

Also why do Princess Anne's children Peter and Zara not have titles? You become a prince by being the son of a prince, or princess by being the daughter of a prince or by marrying a prince. So Prince Andrew's daughters are Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The Queen's daughter Princess Anne has the title Princess Royal, but her children Peter and Zara do not have titles. It is traditional that they would have been made a Duke and Duchess or Earl and Countess, but it is understood that Princess Anne asked the Queen not to give her children titles so they could live as private individuals. Prince Edward declined to be made a Duke on his marriage and became Earl of Wessex, so that his wife Sophie is Countess of Wessex. The Royal Family is descended directly from the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Wessex. On their marriage is was anounced that their children would not be titled Prince and Princess but as the children of an Earl, so they are Lady Louise and James Viscount Severn. Why are Roman Catholics excluded from the Line of Succession to the British throne? In 1534 Henry VII I broke with the Church of Rome over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and made himself Head of the Church of England.

Every King or Queen since Elizabeth 1 has held the title 'Supreme Governor of the Church of England' and 'Defender of the Faith'. As it is a Protestant Church all those in the Royal line of succession and their spouses have to be Protestants. The Act of Settlement (1701) laid down that only Protestant heirs of Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I, may succeed to the British throne. Neither Catholics, nor those who marry a Catholic, nor those born out of wedlock, may remain in the line of succession. Prince Charles has let it be known that when he becomes King he will take the title 'Defender of Faith' instead of' 'Defender of the Faith' to include faiths other than the established Church of England. In Aprl 2013 the Succession to the Crown Bill 2013 changed the succession laws so that a person is not disqualified from succeeding to the Crown as a result of marrying a Roman Catholic . They will however not be allowed to become a Roman Catholic as the British Monarch is head of the Protestant Church of England. Why are younger brothers higher in the line of succession than their older sisters?

The line of succession to the British throne used until recently the system of male primogeniture whereby younger sons have precedence over their older sisters. So Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are above their older sister Princess Anne in line of succession, and Prince Edward's son James is above his sister Louise. While male precedence may now be considered to be out of line with current 'equal-rights' thinking and is proposed to be changed, it has not prevented some of the most successful and longest reigning British monarchs from being queens including Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. It does allow the succession to inherit through the female line, so the children of daughters can succeed to the throne as is the case with the current Queen. The French and German monarchies used a system of Salic law whereby females had no right to inherit and could not pass it to their offspring. The last time that the British throne passed to a son in precedence to a first born daughter was when Queen Victoria's son Edward VII inherited the throne over his older sister Princess Victoria. Had she become queen she would have been Queen Victoria II and her son Kaiser Wilhelm II would have also been King William V and ruled over a huge combined British and German Empire.

This could have significantly changed 20th century European history with the 1st World War unlikely to have happened as it did but replaced with other nationalist, republican and fascist struggles leading possibly to the downfall of both monarchies and a changed map of Europe. In Aprl 2013 the Succession to the Crown Bill 2013 changed the succession laws so that a person is able to marry a Roman Catholic and remain in the line of successsion, and the right of male primogeniture no longer applies to children born after 28 October 2011. It meant that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child had been a girl and their second a boy, male primogenture would no longer have applied and he would not have had precedence over his older sister. However, their first child born on 22 July 2013 was a boy Prince George so it did not apply. Their second child Princess Charlotte will not lose her place even if she has a younger brother. This current line of succession is shown at Line of Succession. King William IV was 64 years old when he became king in 1830 and succeeded his elder brother George IV.

Prince Charles the current heir to the throne became 68 on 14th November 2016 and is now the longest waiting heir to the throne. Edward VII became king after the death of his mother Queen Victoria in 1901 when he was 59 years and 2 months old. Kings & Queens by age of accession to the throne . Could the Queen choose to pass the throne directly to Prince William? The Queen cannot choose. Prince Charles as her eldest son and Prince of Wales is next in line to the throne and will become King as long as he is living when the Queen dies or should she abdicate. It would require a change to British constitutional law for this not to happen. Will Charles become King George VII? Charles can choose to rule as King Charles III or take another name. Kings often take a different regnal (ruling) name from their first given name. Charles' grandfather George VI was Prince Albert ("Bertie") before he became king, and his great great grandfather Edward VII was also Prince Albert.

King Charles I was beheaded in 1649 after the English Civil War, and Charles II was popularly known as the 'merrie' monarch as he had so many mistresses. Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) the Stuart pretender to the throne styled himself Charles III before he was defeated at Culloden in 1746. It is thought possible that Prince Charles may choose to become King George VII after his grandfather. Will Camilla become Queen? Prince Charles and Camilla were married on 9th April 2005. She was given the title Duchess of Cornwall because of sensitivity following the death of Diana. As the wife of the Prince of Wales her title should be Princess of Wales and, although before the marriage it was announced that she would take the title Princess consort, she is expected to become Queen consort when Charles becomes King. Is there a royal connection between Camilla's family and the royal family? In 1889 Camilla's great-grandmother Alice Keppel was the mistress of Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales. Edward VII was the great-great-grandfather of Prince Charles the current Prince of Wales. Why is the Queen's husband Prince Philip not King Philip?

The husband of a queen is known as a Prince consort and does not become King. Queen Victoria's husband was Prince Albert, and Queen Elizabeth's husband is Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh . The wife of a king is a Queen consort and does take the title Queen although she does not rule as the monarch. The only exceptions were William III and Mary II who ruled jointly from 1689 until Mary's death in 1694. Were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip related before their marriage? The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are both great great grandchildren of Queen Victoria . The Queen is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria’s eldest son King Edward VII and the Duke of Edinburgh is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice. What relation is Queen Elizabeth II to King George III ? George III was her 3rd great grandfather. If you you follow the line of succession on her grandfather's side - George VI (father), George V (grandfather), Edward VII (great grandfather), Victoria (2nd great grandmother) , Edward Duke of Kent (3rd great grandfather), George III (4th great grandfather) - then he was her 4th great grandfather.

However her grandmother Queen Mary of Teck was also descended from George III - she and George V were 2nd cousins once removed. If you follow Queen Elizabeth's line through her grandmother - George VI (father), Queen Mary (grandmother), Mary Adelaide (great grandmother), Adolphus of Hanover (2nd great grandfather), George III (3rd great-grandfather) - he is more closely related as her 3rd great grandfather. You can see this on the Royal Family tree . How rich is Queen Elizabeth? Her estimated personal fortune is around £350 million (US $435M). The Duchy of Lancaster estate, a portfolio of land, property and assets, is held in trust for the monarch and worth around £348 million. She also owns properties privately that have never been valued, including Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle reputedly worth £160 million and the Castle of Mey. Her investment portfolio in blue-chip British companies is around £110 million, her personal art collection is worth at least £2 million, and she owns personal jewellery and a large stamp collection built up by her grandfather George V.

Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Crown Jewels and the Royal Art Collection are held in trust for the nation. The Crown Estate, which manages on behalf of the monarch the property and land owned by the Crown, including properties in Regent Street and St James in London, offshore wind farms around Britain's coast and rural estates in Scotland, is worth around £11 billion and generates £285 million (2014/15) income a year. This income is given to the national Treasury for use in public finances, in return for a grant (£38 million in 2012) for the cost of running the monarchy. This arrangement dated from 1760 when George III gave up the right to the income from the Crown's estates in return for a Civil List paid to members of the Royal Family. In 2013 this changed to a Sovereign Support Grant based on 15% of the income from the Crown Estate.

This means that for the year from April 2016 the nation will keep £242.2 million of the Crown Estates income, and the monarchy will receive £42.7 miilion towards the cost of the Royal household, their travel, attending formal functions and repairs to buildings including Kensington Palace which is the home of Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Does the Queen pay taxes? Yes, in 1992 The Queen offered to pay income tax and capital gains tax on a voluntary basis. Since 1993, her personal income has been taxable as for any other UK taxpayer. Does the Queen rule or does Parliament? The British Monarchy is a constitutional monarchy in which the King or Queen reigns as Head of State but with limits to their power, and the day-to-day government is carried out by Parliament. The political party with the most elected seats in the House of Commons elects a Prime Minister who is invited by the monarch to form a government. A new Parliament is opened by the monarch in an official ceremony, and the Prime Minister during his or her term in office regularly meets with the King or Queen to discuss political matters and events.

How many British Prime Ministers and US Presidents have there been during the Queen's reign? Queen Elizabeth II has worked with 13 different Prime Ministers since she became Queen: Winston Churchill (1951-55), Anthony Eden (1955-59), Harold Macmillan (1959-63), Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64), Harold Wilson (1964-70 & 1974-76), Edward Heath (1970-74), James Callaghan (1976-79), Margaret Thatcher (1979-90), John Major (1990-97), Tony Blair (1997-2007), Gordon Brown (2007-2010), David Cameron (2010-2016) and Theresa May (2016 - present).

There have been 12 US Presidents during her reign: Harry Truman (1945-1953), Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61), John Kennedy (1961-63), Lyndon Johnson (1963-69), Richard Nixon (1969-74), Gerald Ford, (1974-77), James Carter (1977-81), Ronald Reagan (1981-89), George Bush (1989-93), William Clinton (1993-2001), George W Bush (2001-09), Barack Obama, (2009-present). There have been 7 Archbishops of Canterbury and 7 Popes during her reign. Which King or Queen reigned for the longest time? The longest reigning British monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who including today has reigned for 64 years, 11 months, and 13 days which is the longest reign in over 1,200 years of British History.

On 10th September 2015 she surpassed her great great grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years, 7 months and 2 days from 1837-1901. See Kings and Queens by length of reign . Which King or Queen reigned for the shortest time? Edward VI named his cousin Lady Jane Grey as his successor and she was proclaimed queen on July 10, 1553 by her father-in-law the Duke of Northumberland. She was 16 years old. Meanwhile Edward's half sister Mary eldest daughter of Henry VIII was also proclaimed queen. The situation was resolved 9 days later on July 19 1553 when Mary arrived in London and was proclaimed as the rightful queen. Mary was crowned Queen on Oct 1, 1553. Lady Jane Grey was executed on February 12, 1554. Another who was not crowned was Edward V . His father Edward IV died on April 9, 1483, but he was usurped by his uncle Richard III who proclaimed himself king 2 months later on June 26 and crowned on July 6, 1483.

The date that Edward died is unknown - he was presumed murdered with his brother in the Tower of London at sometime in September that year. The shortest reigning crowned king was Edmund II for 7 months from 25 April - 30 November 1016. Kings and Queens by length of reign . Which King had the most illegitimate children? Henry I is purported to have had 20-25 illegitimate children by at least six women, but few details are known. Charles II famously fathered numerous illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged fourteen. His mistresses included Lucy Walter (2 children), Moll Davis (1) , Nell Gwyne (2), Louise de Keroualle (1), Barbara Villiers (6), Elizabeth Killigrew (1), Catherine Pegg (1), Frances Stuart (became the face of Britannia on coins), and at least five others. William IV had 10 illegitimate children born between 1794 and 1807 by his mistress actress Dorothea Bland (known as Mrs Jordan). Is David Cameron descended from royalty? How close would he be in line to the throne?

David Cameron, the previous British Prime Minister, is the great, great, great grandson of Elizabeth Fitzclarence (Jan 17, 1801 - Jan 16, 1856) who was an illegitimate daughter of William IV and his mistress Irish actress Dorothea Bland who was known by her stage name as 'Mrs Jordan'. They lived together for 20 years when he was Duke of Clarence and had 5 sons and 5 daughters. When he became heir to the throne William married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen but they had no surviving children so when he died having no legitimate children his niece Victoria became Queen. David Cameron is the 5th cousin, twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II, but illegitimate lines have no claim to the throne. The Royal Marriage act of 1772, instigated by William IV's father George III, requires members of the royal family to obtain permission from the monarch to marry. So William and Dorothea would have had to get permission from his brother George IV to marry and it would also have required ratification by Parliament.

She was Catholic and would have had to renounce her Catholic faith for William to remain in the line of succession to the throne. In the very unlikely event that they had been allowed to marry and had done so before their children were born then their eldest son George Augustus would have had a claim to the throne. His great grandson Geoffrey Fitzclarence, 5th Earl of Munster, was a Conservative politician in Winston Churchill's government. David Cameron's line through their 3rd daughter Elizabeth would have had only a very remote claim. How big was Henry VIII? When Henry VII I came to the throne in April 1509 he was 17 years old, 6ft 2in tall, and had pale skin, blue eyes and auburn hair. He was physically active and enjoyed sport, hunting and jousting. A Venetian visitor described him as 'His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on, a vigorous player of tennis, rider of horses, and skilled wrestler'. However he became fatter with age and gluttony.

His suits of armour show that in 1512 he had a 32 inch waist , which increased to 35 inch by 1520s, and then grew to an enormous 54 inch by 1545. He suffered increasingly of ill health, swelling of the joints and an ulcerated leg claimed to have been caused by a jousting accident. His pain added to his mood swings and unpredictable temper. In 1544 his portrait shows him puffy and bloated. By 1546 he could hardly walk and was carried around on a wooden chair . He had to be winched on to his horse and his armour cut open to accommodate his swollen legs. He is estimated to have weighed 25 stone (350 lbs or 158kg) when he died in January 1547 Why was Queen Mary I known as Bloody Mary? Queen Mary's father Henry VIII split with Rome over his divorce from her mother Catherine of Aragon and made himself head of the Protestant Church of England. When she became queen, Mary sought to re-establish Roman Catholicism as the official religion and carried out persecution of Protestant clergy and followers.

Over 200 died including Thomas Cranmer and several bishops who were burnt at the stake between 1555 and Mary's death in 1558. She was succeeded by her half sister Elizabeth I , daughter of Ann Boleyn, who re-established Protestantism as the official Church of England. How many British monarchs have been killed while they were king or queen? - King Edmund I was killed in 946 during a feast at Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire, by an outlawed robber. - King Edward The Martyr was murdered by members of Aethelred's household at Corfe Castle in 978 - King Edmund II Ironside was assassinated in London in 1016 - King Harold II was killed by an arrow in his eye at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. - King William I The Conqueror suffered a fatal internal injury in 1087 after being thrown against the pommel of his saddle near Nantes in France. - King William II Rufus was killed in 1100 with an arrow while hunting in the New Forest.

Supposedly an accident, it has been suggested that he was shot deliberately on the instructions of his brother Henry. - Richard I The Lion Heart was killed by a crossbow bolt while besieging Châlus-Chabrol in France in 1199. - Edward II was murdered in 1327 at Berkeley Castle on the orders of his wife, Isabella - Richard II was starved to death in 1400 while imprisioned in Pontefract castle. He had been forced to abdicate in 1399 by his cousin Henry IV Bolingbroke. - Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London in 1471 during the 'Wars of the Roses' between the Lancastrians and Yorkists. - Edward V and his younger brother were imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1483 and never seen again. Their fate remains a mystery but the two princes are believed to have been murdered on orders from their uncle Richard III. - Richard III was killed in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field. - Henry VIII executed two of his six wives, Anne Boleyn in 1536 and Catherine Howard in 1542.

- Charles I was executed by Parliament in 1649 following the Civil War. Scottish Kings killed include James II at Roxburgh in 1460 when a cannon exploded, James III in battle near Stirling in 1488 by supporters of his son, James IV by Henry VIII's forces at Flodden in 1513, and Mary Queen of Scots executed in 1587 on orders from her cousin Elizabeth I. Why was Edward I not Edward IV as he followed Edward the Elder, Edward the Martyr & Edward the Confessor? The practice of using Roman numerals to distinguish kings and queens started only after there had been several with the same name, and particularly when there was a succession of father, son, grandson like Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III. Before then it was common for chroniclers and historians to use sobriquets such as Edward the Elder, Edward the Martyr, Edward the Confessor, Edmund Ironside, Aethelred the Unready, Alfred the Great, Harold Harefoot etc before this became impractical. It would be interesting to consider how the present Queen would be known if she were to be referred to in this way.

'Elizabeth the Great', 'Elizabeth the Steadfast ', 'Elizabeth the Dutiful', have been suggested, as well as 'Elizabeth the Diplomat' for her work and visits to so many countries, 'Elizabeth the Survivor' referring to her reign as the longest in British history,'Elizabeth the Wise', 'Elizabeth the Magnificent', 'Elizabeth the Supreme', 'Elizabeth the Faithful' for her untiring service over 60 years to her people and the Commonweatlh, 'Elizabeth the Enduring', 'Elizabeth the Correct', 'Elizabeth,the Benevolent', 'Elizabeth,the Tolerant', 'Elizabeth the Stalwart', 'Elizabeth the Beloved' and 'Elizabeth Britannia'. If you have a suggestion please contact us . What about King Arthur of the knights of the round table and Camelot? King Arthur is a legend and folklore of a Celtic king who fought to defend Britain from Saxon invaders in the 6th century. There is no historical evidence that he existed. Interestingly, Henry VII sought to revive the legend naming his eldest son Arthur. Unfortunately Prince Arthur died in 1502 aged 15 before he became King. His younger brother Henry followed his father instead and became Henry VIII .

Why was there no king or queen between 1649 and 1660? The English Civil War (1642-1649) was fought between the royalist forces loyal to King Charles I and the parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell. The Royalist were defeated at the Battle of Naseby in 1645 and following attempts to organize a Scottish invasion, Charles was caught and executed on January 30, 1649. It was the first time a British monarch had ever been publicly executed in recorded history. After the execution of the King, a republic was declared known as the Commonwealth of England (1649-1653) and then the Protectorate (1653-1658) with rule by parliament under Cromwell. Following his death in 1658, Cromwell was succeeded briefly by his son Richard before the monarchy was restored and Charles II became king in 1660. What is the Stone of Destiny? The Stone of Destiny is a symbolic stone that was used in the crowning of Kings of Scotland at the Palace of Scone in Perthshire, Scotland.

It is a block of sandstone which measures approximately 26 inches long x 16 wide x 11 high which rested beneath the throne. According to legend it was brought to Scotland by Fergus Mor from Ireland, where it had reached by way of Spain and Egypt from the Holy Land. It was used in the crowning of kings from Kenneth MacAlpin in 841 to John Balliol in 1292. In 1296 King Edward I of England took the stone to London where it was kept in Westminster Abbey for use in coronations. In 1950 a group of students stole the stone and took it back to Scotland in two pieces which were repaired by a Glasgow stone mason. They left it at Arbroath Abbey from where it was returned to Westminster Abbey. In 1996 the British Government decided in response to calls by Scottish nationalists to return it to Scotland. It arrived back on St Andrews Day 30 November 1996, almost exactly 700 years after it had been removed by Edward, and is now in Edinburgh Castle. When did Wales become part of the United Kingdom?

Wales became incorporated into England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, after it had been annexed by Edward I of England in 1282. Edward dubbed his eldest son Edward Prince of Wales, since which time the eldest son of each English monarch has borne the same title. In the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, Wales became legally part of the Kingdom of England, and subsequently part of the United Kingdom. When did Scotland become part of the United Kingdom? The Crowns of England and Scotland were united in 1603 when James VI King of Scotland became James I King of England. In October 1604, one year later , he decreed that the Royal Title would use the term Great Brittaine to refer to the "one Imperiall Crowne" made up of England and Scotland. However despite James' wishes political union between Scotland and England did not take place until 1707 in the reign of Queen Anne. See union of the United Kingdom . When did Ireland become part of the United Kingdom?

Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1800 when the Act of Union with Ireland was passed by both the Irish and British parliaments Why is Northern Ireland part of the United Kingdom when Southern Ireland is a different country? Northern Ireland, predominantly Protestant, and Southern Ireland, Catholic, split in 1920 with 6 of the 9 counties of Ulster remaining within the United Kingdom, and the remaining 26 counties being given home rule under the Government of Ireland Act. In 1922 the Southern counties became the Irish Free State and then since 1949 the Republic of Ireland.

Question: In which year did British monarch Queen Elizabeth II first pay Income Tax?
Answer: 1993